Sports cars, sports stars, and barbecue were abundant in Norman on Saturday as Oklahoma hosted possibly the largest recruiting event in the history of the program. After taking a year off, due to Covid, the ChampU BBQ returned in 2021 to epic proportions. With eleven 5-star recruits, representing the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, in attendance for Saturday’s event, social media buzz was more centered on prominent alumni rather than potential commitments.
One such notable alum was 2008 Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford who has seldom made public appearances since his days of dominating on the gridiron for the crimson and cream. Bradford took photos with recruits, reunited with old teammates, and participated in a discussion panel of current and former NFL players from the University of Oklahoma. What’s the best way to sell your program’s ability to put players in the NFL? Have Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, Lane Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Kenneth Murray and a plethora of other NFL millionaires in attendance to tell the kids how being a Sooner got them there.
In addition to championship rings and trophies to show off to prospects, Oklahoma made sure there was also a collection of sports cars & trucks for the recruits to get their photos taken in front of…as opposed to Texas other schools who had their graphics department impose sports cars into the photos of recruits.
It’s yet to be seen what impact the weekend will have on the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes but with over 40 prospects on campus for the event you can rest assured that it will ultimately boost both classes. At least Roy Manning is pretty confident about it.
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